MAY CONTAIN NUTS
HOME
Home

Search Shorpy

SEARCH TIP: Click the tags above a photo to find more of same:
Mandatory field.

Search results -- 30 results per page

Got a Light?
... View full size. Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. Curing Time I really love ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/20/2008 - 2:01am -

July 1939. Person County, North Carolina. A tobacco curing barn ready for "putting in," with fuel stacked on either side. The sticks are fed in through the small openings at the base. Piece of sheet iron on the left is used to cover the opening of the furnace when starting the fire. View full size. Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. Curing TimeI really love these old tobacco barn scenes. I was there except about 10 years later and in Wilson County, NC. Harvest and curing times were exciting because kids knew the really hard work was ending and trips to the auction warehouses would start soon. Many farmers used mules and wagons for the trip to town.Tobacco would be unloaded the first day and the sale was the next. The trip home with money in hand kept us looking for next year. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Dorothea Lange, Rural America)
Following the Harvest: 1939
... wants to return to Oklahoma, father unwilling." Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Mangum, OK ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/18/2017 - 2:06pm -

        Our second visit with this family, with ten of their eleven children, now ready for their close-up. February 1939. Brawley, Imperial County, California. "In Farm Security Administration migratory labor camp. Family of mother, father and eleven children, originally from near Mangrum, Oklahoma, where he had been tenant farmer. Came to California in 1936 after the drought. Since then has been traveling from crop to crop in California, following the harvest. Six of the eleven children attend school wherever the family stops long enough. Five older children work along with the father and mother. February 23, two of the family have been lucky and 'got a place' (a day's work) in peas on the Sinclair ranch. Father had earned about $1.73 for ten-hour day. Oldest daughter had earned $1.25. From these earnings they had to provide their transportation to the fields 20 miles away. Mother wants to return to Oklahoma, father unwilling." Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Mangum, OKMangum was my grandmother's hometown. All of my grandparents were migrant workers for many years. My uncles followed the harvest from the Texas Rio Grande valley up into the Midwest and into North Dakota. Mostly wheat, cotton and corn, I believe. What Handsome and Beautiful ChildrenThe older girls are quite striking. And the oldest boy is good looking. I do hope and pray that they led healthy and happy lives later on and had many wonderful memories. Funny What You InheritTall boy on left has his father's exact ears. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Dust Bowl, Great Depression, Kids)
Golden (State) Boys: 1938
... on the flats outside of Bakersfield, California." Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Masterful ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/11/2017 - 1:29am -

November 1938. "Children of [Dust Bowl] refugee families now on Works Progress Administration. They live in tents on the flats outside of Bakersfield, California." Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. MasterfulThe well-respected camera woman achieves a technical masterwork with this extreme backlit shot. Or has Shorpy come to the rescue and opened up the shadows and let us see the Depression-be-damned happiness of the three boys? Great picI love the effect of the backlighting in this photo. I've never heard the term "refugee" used with folks affected by the Dust Bowl. It makes me wonder if the term is used out of ignorance or as a political statement. Neither scenario would be flattering to the author. [Any ignorance here might be ours. A refugee is a person seeking refuge. The term was widely used during the Depression when referring to the victims of Dust Bowl-era drought and flooding. - Dave] Flashbulb?Back then it was not difficult to overpower the sun with a flashbulb, so probably likely there was some fill flash on this shot. That, or it is a masterful print or scan of the original neg. [Any "fill flash" effect is courtesy of Photoshop. - Dave] (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Dust Bowl, Kids)
A Place to Call Home: 1939
... State. August 1939. View full size. Photograph by Dorothea Lange. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression, Kids) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/05/2009 - 2:43am -

"Youngest little girl of motherless family." Toppenish in the Yakima Valley of Washington State. August 1939. View full size. Photograph by Dorothea Lange. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression, Kids)
When I Was a Kid: 1936
... family. Five children aged two to seventeen." Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Five ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/29/2013 - 9:16am -

November 1936. "American River camp near Sacramento, California. Children of destitute family. Five children aged two to seventeen." Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Five ChildrenThe old plan was first raise babysitters and then have children. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression, Kids)
Hovel-Ready: 1937
... project, Arizona." Medium format acetate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. It's ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/17/2020 - 9:07pm -

May 1937. "Children of migrant cotton field workers from Sweetwater, Oklahoma. Eight children in the family. Note the housing. Near Casa Grande project, Arizona." Medium format acetate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. It's going to be hotIt hits 100 regularly in May, and June it's even hotter. I can't imagine those kids being broiled in those corrugated iron shacks. No humidity though. I did note the housingand the incessant wind on these poor children. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression, Kids)
Play Street: 1936
... for raising garden vegetables." Medium format negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Housekeeping ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/07/2013 - 10:01am -

June 1936. "Background photo for Hightstown project. Play street for children. Sixth Street and Avenue C, New York City. The Solomon family who are to be resettled at Hightstown, New Jersey, live in this neighborhood. This Resettlement Administration project includes 250 homes, 414 acres of farmland, a modern factory, utilities including water system, recreation area and lake. Each family will have a modern home and an opportunity to work in a cooperative factory. Also a small plot of land for raising garden vegetables." Medium format negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Housekeeping roomsI started learning to read in 1959. "TO LET" was still being used in Camden, New Jersey at that time. I understood the sign advertised the availability of an apartment but I read the sign as "toilet". I thought the landlord was advertising that a tenant would have the benefit of a private water closet. I only recently learnt that my mother thought the same thing when she was starting to read. It's possible that the signs were decades old and the landlords just kept using them, so the phrase may have gone out of use earlier in younger communities. To LetCurious as to when "to let" went out of favor and replaced by "for rent". Future Home of Alphabet CityThirty-five years later, this part of Lower Manhattan might have seen dead junkies or mugged pedestrians sprawled out where the produce crates are in this shot. Still, in the '70s the neighborhood had also become a haven for unestablished painters and more than a few poets (Alan Ginsberg prominent among them). Now, I suppose, it's become gentrified and lofts are selling for $5,000/sq.ft. My desultory efforts to learn more about the Hightstown project reveal that the area it occupied is now called Roosevelt, and that the cooperative did not survive to the end of WWII. One wonders whether the Alphabet City refugees returned to the City or became assimilated Joiseyites. Play streets still exist!From http://www.palnyc.org/800-PAL-4KIDS/Program.aspx?id=30 "Established in 1914, the summer Play Street program has been closing off streets and other public areas throughout New York City to give children safe, supervised and fun-filled places to play and learn." Re: To LetI don't know, but it was still in use in Roger Miller's song "King of the Road" "Trailer for sale or rent, Rooms to let for fifty cents," Who is on Safety Patrol?Growing up my Catholic grade school would block off the street in front of the school during lunch recess with barricades. Woe to the student on Safety Patrol who forgot to remove the barricades after lunch recess. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, NYC, Stores & Markets)
Baby Carrot: 1937
... Imperial Valley, California." Medium format negative by Dorothea Lange. View full size. This is a case for you know who Calling Joe ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/04/2017 - 3:18pm -

March 1937. "Children of migratory carrot pullers, Mexicans. Imperial Valley, California." Medium format negative by Dorothea Lange. View full size. This is a case for you know whoCalling Joe Manning! I would love to see Joe work his journalistic magic and find out who this charming face belongs to. Happy childrenI, too, was around this age when I was introduced to work by my parents. In the spring we picked strawberries in lower Louisiana with our parents. We were given chores to do within our abilities to help around the house. Housecleaning and ironing come to mind. Eventually we developed a sense of accomplishment in these small acts that carry on today. And, yes, we were happier because of our contribution to our family. WinsomeI'm certain you'll find this girl's picture next to that dictionary entry. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Dorothea Lange, Kids)
Happiness Is: 1936
... camp. Kern County, California." Acetate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/25/2020 - 8:36pm -

November 1936. "Pregnant migrant woman living in squatter camp. Kern County, California." Acetate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. The implacable and immemorial earthThis woman, and SuzieQ’s remark that her “eyes have a farseeing look in them,” put me in mind of the pregnant woman Lena Grove in William Faulkner’s novel Light in August, and the following passage which has stayed with me since I first read it over 40 years ago: “She begins to eat. She eats slowly, steadily, sucking the rich sardine oil from her fingers with slow and complete relish. Then she stops, not abruptly, yet with utter completeness, her jaw stilled in midchewing, a bitten cracker in her hand and her face lowered a little and her eyes blank, as if she were listening to something very far away or so near as to be inside her. Her face has drained of color, of its full, hearty blood, and she sits quite still, hearing and feeling the implacable and immemorial earth, but without fear or alarm. ‘It’s twins at least,’ she says to herself, without lip movement, without sound. Then the spasm passes. She eats again. The wagon has not stopped; time has not stopped.” Mona Lisa of the campHer eyes have a farseeing look in them. The years haven't been easy, but I also see serenity and patience. Various historians of the Great Depression have commented on the extraordinary patience of many folks during those years. I see better years ahead, and I hope she does, too. Maybe we're never too far from our past. (And I like her pup. She's a nurturer.) Resignation and HopeAnother stunning photograph from Lange: this beautiful young pregnant woman—who appears to be of Native American heritage—cradling a puppy and looking straight into the camera. There is hope as well as resignation in her honest gaze, but there's also a sense of defiance of the circumstances that have brought her here. DignifiedPeople from this time and place are such heroes to me and this young lady is no exception. The hardship may be etched on her clothes and face but a quiet dignity and strength is evident too. They had no safety net in those days, they had to rely on only themselves, maybe friends in similar circumstances and of course, the weather. Recalls to me my father who grew up on a farm in Romania. If you didn't make it, grow it or slaughter it, you didn't have it. (The Gallery, Dogs, Dorothea Lange)
Citrus Seedling: 1936
... picking season at Porterville, California." Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Maintaining ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/17/2013 - 10:20pm -

November 1936. "Drought refugee from Polk, Missouri. Awaiting the opening of orange picking season at Porterville, California." Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Maintaining StandardsThe child's outfit not only looks amazingly clean for the family's situation but also appears to have been recently starched and ironed. An excellent example of not letting one's circumstances define one's standards. Love and prideYou can see the love and pride from Dad in this picture. Cute little guy!!! (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Dorothea Lange, Kids)
Vegetable Kingdom: 1939
... approaching a thousand dollars." Medium format negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. The value ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/15/2018 - 10:55pm -

September 1939. "Ernest W. Kirk Jr. with his two sons on their farm near Ordway, Colorado. They hold fruits of their farm, coming from their labor, which has placed them in a few months from almost hopeless condition to a family with net worth approaching a thousand dollars." Medium format negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. The value of working hard$1,000 in 1939 works out to a tad over $18,000 according to the BLM inflation calculator. Really oddMultiple pictures show he has a wife and a young daughter in addition to his two sons. And I believe I found an obit from his oldest son but they are nowhere to be found in the 1940 Census. PerspectiveMy parents bought their first house for $500 during the 1930s. Dad made the huge sum of $40 a month. $1000 may not be a lot of money today, but it was a sizable sum back then. High cost of goodiesBack in those days candy bars were a nickel, as was a bottle of pop, six pack was a quarter. When I was sent to the store I sometimes got a penny or two for candy, if I was lucky. We had quite a choice, from licorice cigarettes, licorice chewing tobacco, white candy cigarettes -- lotsa goodies, all for a penny. The importance of beingIn the 1940 Census our man is listed as Earnest W. Kirk Jr., born in Oklahoma in 1900. In 1925 he married to Ester Adams, born in Oklahoma in 1905. The two boys are Earnest (b. 1928) and Carl D. (1932); they had a sister, Delorise, born in 1937. ["Delorise" -- really? - Dave] (The Gallery, Agriculture, Dorothea Lange, Kids)
Mrs. Wardlaw: 1939
... Malheur County, Oregon. View full size. Photograph by Dorothea Lange. This is my Great Grandmother This is a picture of my ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2011 - 5:16pm -

October 1939. Mrs. Wardlow [Wardlaw] at the Society of Friends church. Dead Ox Flat, Malheur County, Oregon. View full size. Photograph by Dorothea Lange. This is my Great GrandmotherThis is a picture of my great-grandmother Eva Wardlaw. They misspelled are name as Wardlow. She was born in August 1891 and died in 1963. She had four children. To date she has over 100 descendants. Agnes Lorraine (Ruda) BorbaHi, I was doing family research when I saw a Agnes Lorraine (Ruda) Borba with connection to a Scott Wardlow genealogy. If you are the right person please email me. I have alot concerning Agnes. She is on my Borba line. Email me at marcioborba_genea@yahoo.com Happy Holidays (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Rural America)
Bean Pickers: 1939
... to North Dakota. View full size. Photograph by Dorothea Lange. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression, Kids) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/07/2011 - 9:55pm -

August 1939. Marion County, Oregon, near West Stayton. Children in large private bean pickers' camp. The pickers came from many states, from Oklahoma to North Dakota. View full size. Photograph by Dorothea Lange. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression, Kids)
Farm Dad: 1939
... and do not go to school. Malheur County, Oregon." Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. With 7 you ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/21/2020 - 12:18pm -

October 1939. "George Cleaver, new farmer on 177 acres, has five boys. The three older boys, ages 12, 16 and 18, are needed at home to develop the farm and do not go to school. Malheur County, Oregon." Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. With 7 you get eggrollPer the 1940 Census, the family was a bit larger. There was also a first born daughter, Georgia Ruth Cleaver Elliot (born 1917), who evidently didn't move west with the family, remaining in Missouri. Large families were popular with the Cleavers. The eldest son, Lester (1918-1998), also farmed. As of 2016 when his widow Virginia died, there was a family left behind of 10 children, 38 grandchildren, 100 great grandchildren and 18 great great grandchildren. School DaysI never forget back when I was in grammer school back in the 50s students who lived on a farm were excused from school during the fall to help with the crops which were an all hand evolution before all the big mechanical harvesters. Don't try that now. ["Grammer" school! - Dave] Body language doesn't lieAnd theirs, along with their relaxed and happy facial expressions, bespeaks a close relationship. Maybe money was tight, but they were successful in ways that we could use more of today. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Dorothea Lange, Kids)
Wright Whirlwind: 1942
... instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.” Dorothea Lange "65 years ago" Makes you want to go find a DeLorean and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/09/2012 - 12:34pm -

August 1942. Mechanic Mary Josephine Farley works on a Wright Whirlwind motor in the Corpus Christi, Texas, Naval Air Base assembly and repairs shop. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Howard R. Hollem. My God.I'm sitting here looking at this beautiful woman, and then I realise ... 65 years ago. Older than my motherYeah I'm 51 and whenever I look at these beautiful women I have to keep reminding myself that they were all born before my 79-year-old mother. There's something about them though that makes them seem more in synch with our times than the women of say a decade later. Don't know what it is. Mary JosephineThis is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. I found this in the Archival Collection at Texas Woman’s University. “Mary Josephine Farley Tilton, Letters, 1943-1944, 5 folders. Native of Aransas Pass, Texas. Worked as an engine mechanic and Link trainer instructor during World War II, then joined the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP), class 43-W-4. Later was commissioned in the Air Force. Served in Germany during the Korean War. Graduated in 1965 from Midwestern University with a B.S. Degree in Elementary Education and became a teacher. Letters (all photocopies), written to her family, document Tilton's experiences as a WASP trainee at Avenger Field Sweetwater, Texas, and a ferry pilot based at Love Field, Dallas, Texas. Also includes news articles and a copy of "The Flying V," newsletter of Love Field's ferrying group and a color copy of photograph [1943 or 1944]. Gift of Mary Josephine Tilton, 1995. Mary JosephineThis touching photograph is quite similar to a painting by Norman Rockwell. “Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.” Dorothea Lange "65 years ago"Makes you want to go find a DeLorean and a flux capacitor. Mary Josephine FarleyI am uploading a photo of her in her WASP uniform taken in 1943. [Thank you, whoever you are! - Dave] ColourizationInteresting with all the comments on colourization, that here is another colourized shot. My first job in a photo studio was making prints for the artist downstairs to colourize. We would make a black and white print, and then "sepia tone" it (boy, that smelled). The sepia would add the warm tones to areas not painted. On the back of the print we would write all the colours to be used -- "complexion," "hair colour," "eye colour," "misc." She would then use transparent dyes to add the colour and varnish over it (or "fixative" in the later years). (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Aviation, Howard Hollem, WW2)
Ten Families: 1938
... alfalfa and dairy products for cash crops." Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Dead Ringer ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/12/2014 - 10:22am -

November 1938. "Visalia (vicinity), Tulare County, California. Miners' cooperative farm. Ten families have been established on the old ranch of 500 acres, which they operate as a farm unit, raising cotton, alfalfa and dairy products for cash crops." Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Dead RingerIn the front row, if that's not Jackie Cooper, it has to be his lost twin. Sunday BestThey all seem to be in their Sunday best and are generally happy to be there. Some exceedingly so. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Dorothea Lange, Kids)
Morning Mail: 1938
... to community farming." Medium format acetate negative by Dorothea Lange for the FSA. View full size. Replaced by FSA housing It took a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2020 - 9:29am -

November 1938. "Morning mail at the Mineral King cooperative farm, Farm Security Administration, Tulare County, California. Old ranch house, California type, in the background. Buildings will be replaced by modern structures suitable to community farming." Medium format acetate negative by Dorothea Lange for the FSA. View full size. Replaced by FSA housingIt took a bit of digging, but it turns out that Mineral King Ranch is a different place from the named place in Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park. But here's a view of the surviving homes that took the place of this old farmstead: Should we hang around for another delivery?The caption implies that these boxes got more than one daily delivery, though the USPS website says that "as a rule, rural carriers have always delivered mail to their customers once a day, six days a week." When free home delivery in cities began in 1863, the guideline was "as frequently as the public convenience shall require." Multiple daily deliveries were common, though cutbacks reduced these, particularly during the Depression and World War II. Finally, on April 17, 1950, the Postmaster General ordered once per day home delivery, "in the interest of economy." [As the caption implies, the Farm Security Administration's cooperative farms got multiple daily deliveries. - Dave] DetritusI’m wondering about all the organic matter in the dirt road in the foreground. The trees appear to me to be plane and maybe palm – is all that stuff from the trees? Or some kind of farm byproduct? I see quite a few pods or beans. Never having been to California, I’m unfamiliar with these things. [One palm and multiple eucalypti. - Dave] F.G. HendersonI believe the F.G. Henderson mailbox belongs to a Frank Glenn Henderson. He would have been 40 years old in 1938. Amongst other corroborating evidence (including 1938-40 California voting rolls), I find Frank in the 1940 Census, which describes him and family living in Union Township, San Joaquin County. The Census confirms Mr. Henderson resided in Visalia (Tulare County) in 1935. His profession is listed as dairyman, working on a FSA dairy farm. Frank Glenn Henderson @ Find A Grave. [NB: The Census shows *him* living there. Not "he." - Dave] [I earlier edited from 'him' to 'he'. Pffft. I'm clearly overdue for a self-directed grammar refresher course. And yes, I appreciate correction(s) when committing an error. - d&v] Modern structures suitableWhat I don’t understand is how those tiny new sad bungalows (thank you, ContextSans) – the “modern structures suitable to community farming” – were considered superior to the “old ranch house, California type” which they replaced. The old house was bigger and so could hold more people, and was probably breezier, and generally roomier. Plus those replacement houses look awfully postwar to me. EucalyptusStill a very common sight in many parts of California. It was introduced from Australia in the late 19th century by the Southern Pacific Railroad, as a fast-growing source of cross ties. It proved too brittle for that purpose, but landowners continued to plant eucalyptus as windbreaks. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Dorothea Lange, Kids)
Mommy's Little Soldier: 1939
... from Broken Bow, Oklahoma." Medium format negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. What a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/25/2018 - 8:16pm -

February 1939. "In a carrot pullers' camp, Imperial Valley, California, near Holtville. Women from Broken Bow, Oklahoma." Medium format negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. What a Beautiful Woman... I am deeply touched by this woman, a migrant worker living in a tent, working at stoop labor in the hot, dusty fields, tenderly caring for her son and raising a family under the most squalid and hopeless conditions. Yet her clothes are clean and fresh-looking, despite the knee patches, her hair is brushed and well cared for, her hands still tender and beautiful. Any chance that there might be other pictures of this extraordinary woman and her family...? A hard lifeI'm struck by several things in this photo: 1) That little guy is having a tough moment. But both the ladies are kindly tending to him. 2) That tent can't be all that comfortable, however, it looks like the occupants are doing their best to keep it neat and clean, living with as much dignity as possible. A broom for a dwelling with a dirt floor, that's some moxie. 3) How is she keeping those jeans and white shirt so clean? And her hair is neatly styled and appears clean. My life has been too easy. The Little TykeNo wonder he's so unhappy. He has a bandage on his arm and girls' shoes on his feet. They have the toolsFriend Tuba Dave ask "How is she keeping those jeans and white shirt so clean?" She has a washing machine, of course, but it's easy to miss, because the kid is standing in front of it. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Dorothea Lange, Kids)
Georgia Gothic: 1937
... house in Greene County, Georgia." 4x5 acetate negative by Dorothea Lange, Farm Security Administration. View full size. Handyman's ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/19/2017 - 4:14pm -

July 1937. "Antebellum plantation house in Greene County, Georgia." 4x5 acetate negative by Dorothea Lange, Farm Security Administration. View full size. Handyman's dreamJust needs a little work. A little work?Looks like the lady on the porch just got the estimate from the contractor. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Rural America)
A Billion Beets: 1939
... Nyssa, Malheur County, Oregon." Medium format negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Beets, Me ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/31/2018 - 6:30pm -

October 1939. "Sugar beet factory along Snake River. Shows beet dump, beet pile. Nyssa, Malheur County, Oregon." Medium format negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Beets, MeBeets figure prominently in the novel Jitterbug Perfume (1984) by Tom Robbins. (“Slavic peoples get their physical characteristics from potatoes, their smoldering inquietude from radishes, their seriousness from beets.”) I grew up within smelling distance of a sugar beet processing plant in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and the odor, while not unpleasant, is certainly distinctive. ClosedThis story about the closure of the factory and its impact to the town is heartbreaking. Sabotagethis is the industry where the notion "sabotage" was born. When the laborers in the factories wanted to protest against their working load they threw a sabot (wooden shoe) in the machine. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Dorothea Lange, Factories, Railroads)
GAS: 1939
... and Fresno on U.S. 99." Medium format acetate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Price of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/19/2020 - 6:11pm -

May 1939. "Gas station between Tulare and Fresno on U.S. 99." Medium format acetate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Price of GasolineIt's difficult to see the prices on the other pumps, but the middle one indicates 14 and a fraction cents per gallon. According to the inflation calculator, that's about $2.60 per gallon today, which is the current national average. Wig-Wam ServiceI stopped wondering what that could possibly mean when I examined the gas pumps and saw Mohawk and Tee Pee gasoline. I still don’t really understand, but I get the picture. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Gas Stations)
Six Bits a Day: 1938
... make no hungry march." View full size. Photograph by Dorothea Lange. Hard Life The years of pain are so evident on these faces it's ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/05/2009 - 2:36am -

June 1938. In Memphis, hundreds of colored laborers congregate near the bridge every morning at daylight in hopes of work chopping cotton on a plantation, where they are taken by truck. Reduced acreage has made employment scarce for this class of seasonal labor in all towns. "You can't live the commonest way on six bits a day. Not alone nor no way. A man like me can't get no foothold. It's a mighty tough old go. The people here in the morning are hungry, raggedy, but they don't make no hungry march." View full size. Photograph by Dorothea Lange. Hard LifeThe years of pain are so evident on these faces it's heartbreaking. The man in the foreground is particularly hardened. It's hard to imagine what they saw and experienced. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression)
The Gardeners: 1936
... seventy dollars a month." 4x5 inch nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. That's ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/27/2015 - 3:37pm -

February 1936. "El Monte, California, federal subsistence homesteads. Four in family. Three-room house, $17.70 monthly rent to apply on purchase. Father's occupation: carpenter. Earns seventy dollars a month." 4x5 inch nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. That's some gardenHe must be planning a switch from carpenter to green grocer. No yokeI'd love to send that guy a horse or cow. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Dorothea Lange)
On the Stump: 1939
... subsistence farm, whittled out of the stumps." Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Mixed ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/05/2017 - 4:03am -

August 1939. "Western Washington subsistence farm, whittled out of the stumps." Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Mixed productsLooking at all those flowers they obviously planted "for pretty". Trunks for the MemoryMy grandmother's family were loggers in the Pacific Northwest. When my dad was a kid, he would visit his grandparents, aunts, and uncles and sometimes go out to their worksites. He said back then, one tree would take up an entire truck -- they were huge. Now, he watches those logging shows on tv and sees the trucks carrying away the thin "new" growth, he remarks about how all of the old "big" trees are long gone. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Dorothea Lange, Kids, Landscapes)
Covert Auction: 1938
... crop at the tobacco auction." Medium format negative by Dorothea Lange. View full size. I'll bet That she's not much over 40. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/28/2017 - 3:33pm -

July 1938. Douglas, Georgia. "Wife of sharecropper in town to sell their crop at the tobacco auction." Medium format negative by Dorothea Lange. View full size. I'll betThat she's not much over 40. That's a tough life. Those handsThat is a hard-working woman right there. The CarIf I am not mistaken, the car appears to be a 1928 or 1929 Ford Model A Tudor Sedan. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Dorothea Lange, Kids)
Western Exposure: 1938
... The route many refugees cross." Medium format negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Refugees? ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/18/2020 - 1:18pm -

June 1938. "New Mexico desert. Highway No. 70. The route many refugees cross." Medium format negative by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Refugees?What do they mean by refugees? From where? Dust Bowl maybe? [Drought refugees. - Dave] What a StretchWould we have loved a stretch of road like this in the late '70s to run our very used and tired muscle cars bought during our high school years. Living in the Boston area even back then there wasn't much running room to open up on. Stunningly beautifulI'm only sorry it was a trail of tears for drought refugees. (The Gallery, Dorothea Lange, Landscapes, On the Road)
Well Wisher: 1937
... "Sharecropper boy near Chesnee, South Carolina." Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Excerpt from ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/04/2015 - 1:40pm -

July 1937. "Sharecropper boy near Chesnee, South Carolina." Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Excerpt from "The Old Oaken Bucket"by Samuel Woodworth The moss-covered bucket I hailed as a treasure,     For often at noon when returned from the field, I found it the source of an exquisite pleasure,     The purest and sweetest that nature can yield. How ardent I seized it with hands that were glowing,     And quick to the white pebbled bottom it fell. Then soon with the emblem of truth overflowing,     And dripping with coolness it rose from the well, The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket, The moss-covered bucket that hung in the well. Chesnee, SCI have a Chesnee mailing address, but live six miles away. I have found the many photos from this area interesting; I wish I knew more about the exact locations. It is still a poor, rural, and, frankly, backwards area. The high point of Chesnee today is the Bantam Chef, with its 50s decor and its Studebaker-obsessed owner, David Walker. He drives a different Studebaker most days. He lost 40 of them (plus 20 motorcycles) in a fire a couple of years back, but still has over 100. He has everything from Studebaker buggies, wagons, and wheelbarrows to cars on display in his restaurant. If you are ever in the area, you should stop in. Nothingnessin his eyes, forlorn look on his face. Those times were very bad, affecting children and young adults severely. Depression-era children grew to adulthood and carved a niche in society. Throw nothing away. Waste nothing. Repurpose everything. The old-timer stories I heard on my mail route speak volumes for those then children. Alleys were clean -- no wood, no usable throwaways. Socks were darned, clothes were mended, shoes (if you has them) were repaired. I feel for them. We take too much for granted in this present life. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression)
Package Deal: 1937
... David, Cochise County, Arizona." Medium format negative by Dorothea Lange, Farm Security Administration. View full size. Prosperous part of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/21/2017 - 10:12am -

May 1939. "Sign near St. David, Cochise County, Arizona." Medium format negative by Dorothea Lange, Farm Security Administration. View full size. Prosperous part of townNotice the utility poles suggesting the owner might have a phone and electricity. Plus, he's got his pasture fenced in, so it's not just yucca and rattlesnakes. St. David is quite highIt's at an elevation of around 3,700 feet, right next to the San Pedro river, which is one of the few rivers in Arizona left that still flow year round. The town was founded by Mormon pioneers in 1877. If you leave I-10 and head to Tombstone on State Route 80 you will pass through it. I seem to recall from almost 40 years ago when I was stationed at Fort Huachuca nearby that it was a somewhat picturesque town. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Dorothea Lange, Rural America)
In the Sticks: 1935
... This photo reminded me of the Migrant Mother 1936 by Dorothea Lange. The hard times had both women either suffering tooth aches or holding ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/28/2013 - 12:19am -

Sept. 1935. "Daughter of farmer who will be resettled. Wolf Creek Farms, Ga." Photo by Arthur Rothstein for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. The SticksInstruments of attitude adjustment in those days I dare say. [They're for the laundry. - Dave] Sometimes. Depression miseryThis photo reminded me of the Migrant Mother 1936 by Dorothea Lange. The hard times had both women either suffering tooth aches or holding their heads in despair. The Depression brought an equality of desolation for men, women and children. Dreams and aspirationsA powerfully simple, evocative photo that makes one wonder what were her dreams and aspirations. Was she doomed to isolation and lifelong poverty? Did the resettlement give her a second chance at life? What kind of shoes are those?They look like Chuck Taylors! topkicksGotta love her well worn pair of hi-top sneakers,Converse maybe ? ClassicIt looks like she's wearing a pair of well-used Chuck Taylor High Tops. Chuck Taylor ConverseAccording to Wikipedia, at least, Chuck Taylor All-Stars have been around since 1917, so it's very possible that is exactly what she is wearing. Quite a long-lived style! It could be my mother,she went through the depression on the prairies in Saskatchewan, and when I asked her what it was like she would never mention one event about those horrible times. Amazing Photograph and subject.I'm mesmerized by this for some reason. There's big dreams in those eyes. SneakersThe ribbed toe, stitching, and emblem on the sneakers indicate that they are they are more likely a style of Keds introduced in 1934 by the U.S. Rubber Company (later known as Uniroyal). If so, the farmer's daughter's shoes were less than two years old at best. U.S. Rubber's Keds claimed to have launched the original sneaker brand - Champion - in 1916, a year before the Converse Rubber Shoe Company introduced their All Star version. Keds even claimed to have popularized the very word sneaker - despite the fact that the word had been synonymous with canvas and rubber tennis shoes for years. In 1934 Keds with the the Scientific Last and Shockproof Insole were available in all-black or black and white, which was reminiscent of the style they replaced. PF Flyers (by BF Goodrich) wouldn't make the scene until 1937. (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Rural America)
No Future Here: 1939
... too old, If I could get the chance to farm. " Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Home ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/23/2018 - 7:16pm -

February 1939. "Madera County, California. Family from near Dallas, Texas. Rent is $5 a month. There's no future here. I've been following the work (migratory labor) but there's no chance for a fellow to get aholt hisself in this country. The last job I had is tractor driving for 35 cents an hour. Had that job for five months until a Filipino comes along for 25 cents an hour. I was raised on a cotton farm my father owned, a little place back there, and I'm plumb willing to leave this country for good before I get too old, If I could get the chance to farm." Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. HomeHaving been born and raised right outside of Madera, CA. I know this area well. He most likely drove a Ford Tractor. My father was the general sales manager for Ford Tractor in Madera shortly after this photo was taken. At that time, cotton and grapes were our primary crops in this area. Shout out from my fourth grade class who view your photos almost daily and are familiar with Dorthea Lange's wonderful work. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Dorothea Lange, Great Depression, Kids)
« first‹ prev…8 [9]10next ›last »
Syndicate content  Shorpy.com is a vintage photography site featuring thousands of high-definition images. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Contact us | Privacy policy | Accessibility Statement | Site © 2024 Shorpy Inc.